Leftovers

Here are some notes from yesterday’s game that didn’t make it into the paper this morning:

NO JONES: For the first time in his career, when not injured, Julius Jones did not get a carry. Holmgren has been rotating Jones and Maurice Morris this season, as evidenced by Jones getting the start last week against the Cowboys and Morris getting the nod against the Patriots.

“It just worked out that way more than anything,” Holmgren said of Jones not getting on the field. “Julius could start next week. This was going to be Mo’s game to start, and I think we got off to a good start. We’ve always said that if the momentum is there, we are going to stay with him.”

Morris finished with 39 yards on 14 carries, with 37 of those yards coming in the first half.
Fullback Leonard Weaver (five for 32 yards) and short-yardage back T.J. Duckett (four for 16) also got more carries than usual, which cut into Jones’ opportunities.

“It was that type of game,” Holmgren said.

PATRIOTS DOWN: The Seahawks will get no sympathy from the Patriots because they have 12 players on injuries reserve. So do the Patriots, and they lost three defensive starters Sunday – nose tackle Vince Wilfolk (shoulder), linebacker Tedy Bruschi (knee) and free safety James Sanders.

“You hate for that situation to come up, but it’s good that they answered the bell,” coach Bill Belichick said.

He was talking about the players who stepped in – Le Kevin Smith for Wilfork, just re-signed Junior Seau for Bruschi and Antwain Spann for Sanders.

KUDOS TO HOLMGREN: Belichick has had his share of success over the years, but the Patriots coach said he’d love to have as much impact on the game as Holmgren by the time he’s done.

“I have all the respect in the world for Mike,” said Belichick. “He’s had a great career. If it’s over, it’s over, but he certainly has a lot to be proud of. His championships, the contributions he’s made to the game, the way he’s kept the West Coast offense intact, it’s been outstanding.

“His teams are always ready to play and offensively they’re hard to stop. I’d like to have Mike’s record.”

BRANCHING OUT: Belichick tipped his hat to Deion Branch as well after the former Patriot receiver caught four balls for 88 yards and two scores, but he expressed unhappiness over a 63-yard third quarter catch by Branch that survived an appeal.

“He’s a good receiver. We know that,” said Belichick. “He ran a real good route down there in the red area and caught the corner route (for the touchdown) on a good throw. The other play, I really thought he was out of bounds on that. That’s why I challenged it. But he’s a good runner. We’ve seen him do that before.”

HAWK TALK: Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu had a team-high eight tackles, which allowed him to pass linebacker Leroy Hill for the team lead (82-81). Hill did not play because he got a stinger against the Cowboys last week. … Defensive end Baraka Atkins collected the first two sacks of his career. … The Seahawks have lost six games in a row for the first time since 1994. … The victory was the 150th of Belichick’s career, including playoffs. … The Patriots are a league-best 21-2 in December since 2003. … Former Seahawks QB Sam Atkins, the only player to ever wear the No. 12 that has since been retired to honor the fans, raised the 12th Man flag in the south end zone prior to kickoff.